Now that I learnt that wrinkles and other aging signs can start at such a tender age of 20, my curiosity in learning what exactly causes wrinkles was tickled. I just had to find out what exactly lead to wrinkles, and why people at such a young age started developing signs of aging in the prime of their life.

1. In my research, I learnt that as we grow older, our skin undergoes various changes. The epidermal cells (which are the upper skin layer cells) start to divide slowly. This makes it difficult for the skin to repair itself, but thus lead to the thinning of the epidermis.

A thin epidermis makes the skin papery and fragile, and it slowly starts losing water. Moisture is essential to the skin; and once your skin starts losing water

and dehydrating, your skin automatically starts forming wrinkles.

2. Not only does skin dehydration lead to wrinkles; I also learnt that a loss in skin elasticity also leads to wrinkles. So I started wondering, how actually does our skin lose its elasticity?

I found the answer to my question in our skin’s collagen and elastin, the two skin proteins that hold our skin together and creates skin elasticity within its fibers. As we age, our body ‘stock’ of collagen and elastin starts declining because of various processes like glycation that breaks down collagen. This leads to the sagging and wrinkling of our skin.

3. The next cause for wrinkles I learnt was actually rather interesting, as I had always wondered why old people’s hands were heavily wrinkled. It is all attributed to habitual muscle movements. As we user our hands in practically everything we do in our everyday life, its muscle usage leads to cause creases in our skin that slowly become permanent wrinkles.

4. Besides all this, the supply of nutrients to the skin is interrupted as we age because of activities like smoking, drugs and alcohol. This interruption leads to an increase in the formation of wrinkles.

5. For all the obese people out there, I have some good news for you! All the fat cells you have in your body tends to shrink as you age. So they no longer work make you look fat, or act as a natural wrinkle filler that keeps your skin plump and tight!

6. Sunlight is another great cause for wrinkle formation, especially in regions where there is a thin ozone layer. It is however possible to reduce wrinkle formation by wearing a sunscreen.

7. I also learnt that we women have an additional cause for wrinkle formation; which is the natural hormonal changes in our bodies. These changes can lead to wrinkles as our body’s changing hormone levels lead to issues like skin dryness.

I was actually surprised that so many factors lead to wrinkle formation. However in the midst of all this, one common point I found everywhere is a suggestion of taking care of the skin at a young age instead of repenting and worrying about aging signs later in life.

This is best done by maintaining a regular regime of keeping the skin moist and elastic with the help of a good moisturizer and anti-wrinkle cream like LifeCell. I thus agree that aging is inevitable; but not its prevention. Just use the right anti-wrinkle cream and you will be able to delay your body’s aging process.